Traditionalism Rising, Part V: The Problem of Politics

Document Type

Blog Post

Publication Title

Reason - The Volokh Conspiracy

Publication Date

9-12-2022

Abstract

(Excerpt)

I'll conclude my time here discussing my new draft on traditionalism with the problem of traditionalism's politics. The problem is pressing because of internecine political discontent that now seems to afflict originalism, in whose shadow traditionalism at present stands. But it is also vital because all interpretive methods have a politics: they may be motivated by a particular set of political commitments; or they may lead systematically to outcomes with a particular political valence; or the adherents of the method may tend to come from a particular political perspective; or some combination of these. Interpretive methods are of course more than their politics, but in this post, I am focusing on this feature of them. To understand traditionalism's politics, it may be helpful to set it in relief against the politics of originalism against which it is emerging.

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